2 Years?!?!?

About 2 years ago I embarked on something that I thought was interesting and different. I was asked to be on the inaugural panel of the Cosmic Comix webcast. There was no title for it, at least to me there wasn't. It was an informal discussion of the comics and the events surrounding them. The panel consisted of myself, Rusty the store owner, Brandon his faithful employee, and I believe either Jim Martin or James McGuinn. The haze of time tends to fog my brain. It was an interesting start. It felt like a normal Wednesday afternoon at the store, with guys bantering about what was good and what sucked. The producer, Ken, just let things fly and as long as we watched our language, the discussion flowed unabated.

Since then the panel has grown. Jim and James are still active and have surpassed me in appearances (Ken stopped keeping track). Others, like Matthew Mann and Greg Flynn, have brought a new and different perspective to the conversation. There have been others who have put in an appearance or two, and they have been welcome additions to the tapestry. We are upon the 2 year anniversary of the show and I feel some conflicting emotions. On the one hand, I am proud that something that seemed to be a "one and done" sort of thing has grown and become popular enough (I think) to still be around for a couple of years. But, on the other hand, the show has morphed into something since it's inception. That's not a bad thing, mind you. When we began, we talked from the heart and let things fly. Now, we have to do more prep work and have some notes to speak from. Again this is not a bad thing. There were times that I stumbled and bumbled my way thru a segment. I still do, but at least I have notes to fall back on.

I am grateful to Rusty and Ken for including me in this endeavor. It's not something to make money off of, just a forum to yell from. It has given me a chance to meet people and make friends like Jim, Matthew, James and Greg. It also has given me the opportunity to reconnect with my best bud in the store, Shawn. At the time of the startup, he was serving his country overseas, in a place best left forgotten. His return home and subsequent visits to the show gave me a recharge in life that I was lacking at the time. Like the others in the show, I look forward to the banter with him and only hope that there will be more with him and the others in the future.

By the way, the show is here if you're curious: http://www.cosmiccomix.com/conversations/index.htm